Umbrella tip cup



Feb. 19, 1957 2,781,768

UEMURA TAKASI UMBRELLA TIP CUP Filed Sept. 15. 1953 Fill 36 ,fTmRNEYs United States Patent UMBRELLA TIP CUP Uemura Takasi, Nakanoku, Tokyo, Japan, assignor to Goro Miura, Tokyo, Japan vApplication september 1s, 195s, serial No. 380,223 9 claims. (ci. 13s-44) Myinvention relates to an improved umbrella tip-cup construction.

Itis an object of the invention to provide an improved construction of the character indicated.

It is another object to provide .an umbrella tip cup whichcannot be moved straight up or down, but 'which must. be deliberately actuated in a manner other than purely straight up or down in order to produce up or down movement.

. It is also an object to provide a movable cup for selectively retaining umbrella-rib tips and incorporating improved means for frictionally holding said cup in the raised position.

A further object is to provide an umbrella tip cup meeting the above objects and at the same time providing positive vand unambiguous location of the down position ofthecup. y e n Other objects and various further features of novelty and inventionA will' be pointed out or will occur to those skilled inthe art from a reading of the following specilication, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In lsaid'drawings, which show, for illustrative purposes only, preferred forms of the invention:

Fig. ll is a fragmentary viewin elevation illustrating the handle end ofan umbrella to which a tip cup` of the invention has been applied, part of the cup being broken away andY shown inY section; Figs. 2 and 3 areperspective views ofthetwo important parts of the tip cup of Fig. 1 l

` Fig.l 4l is an end view of the part shown in Fig'. 3;

Figs. 5v and-6 are enlarged-views in partial section illustrating the coaction of the parts fortwo relative positions thereof;

' Fig. 7 is a fragmentary View in perspective illustrating modification; and i Fig. 8 illustrates an alternative construction for the part shown in Fig. 3.

Briefly stated, my invention contemplates an umbrella tip-cup assembly comprising al fixedy cup and. a rotatable-cup, with propulsion means coacting between the cups so as to propel the rotatable cup axially upon relative rotation of. the. cups. VMeans are provided for arresting the rotatable cup at its limits of axial travel, and for` the upper limit thestop means incorporates a locking action. Various alternative forms of the invention are shown and willbe described.

Referring to Figs l-to 6of the drawings, my invention is shownV in application to an umbrella comprising a handle 1 0-with aY reducedl shank 11 and 1 supporting at the. lower extreme end (not shown) a plurality of ribs 12 in the usual manner. Tip-cup retention means 13 of the invention is employed selectively to retain or to release the ribs 12. In Figs. l and 5, the parts are shown in the down position for retaining the tips of the ribs 12, and in Fig. 6 the parts are shown in the up position for releasing the ribs 12.

As indicated generally above, my tip cup 13 comprises essentially two relatively rotatable parts. Of these, a

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fixed cup 14 is essentially a sleeve which may be fitted over the base of the handle 10 proper; and, if desired, the bottom of the sleeve or fixed cup 14 may be inwardly flanged as at 15, to provide a neat appearance and to provide means for securing the same, as by means of nails 16 through holes 17, to the base of the handle 10. The other tip-cup part 18 may again be essentially a sleeve preferably close fitting and sliding over the surface of the fixed cup or sleeve 14.

Propulsion means carried by and coacting between the two sleeves 14--18 may serve to propel the movable sleeve 18 axially upon relative rotation of the xed and rotatable cups 14-18 In the form shown, the propulsion means includes a cam groove 19 formed on the inner' surface or bore of the movable sleeve 18, and cam-follower means 20 may be carried by or formed out of the fixed cup or sleeve 14 for coaction with the groove 19. For smooth action, I prefer that ythe cam follower 2u shall be Iof elongated oblique configuration, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the thrust force may be distributed along a substantial length of the cam groove 19 and may thus make for easy propulsion, action. T he cam groove 19 may be formed by a rolling operation in the sleeve 18 but, in the form shown, I illustrate my preference for a machined groove 19, so that the external appearance of the sleeve 18 may be smooth and continuous. e

As a featurev of the invention, I provide means for limiting the relative propulsion of the sleeves 14-18 at both ends of travel depicted in Figs. 5 and 6. For the down position of Figs. land 5, a positive stopl may suffice and, for this purpose, l merely depress a dimple 21 in the outer sleeve 18, so'as to make a localized discontinuity or projection in the bottom of the groove 19 for interception of the cam follower 20, thus preventing complete unthreading disengagement of the parts. Inorder to retain the other, or upper, position of the sleeve 18, I prefer to employ a locking wedge or other friction-binding means so that the rotatable cup 18 cannot be dislodged from the upper position to the downward position without a deliberate release of the friction engagement or lock. Various means may be employed for promoting the desired frictional bind, and in the form shown in Figs. l to 6, this is achieved by reducing the radius of the bottom of 'the groove 19 so as to radially wedge the cam follower 20 when the parts are in the upper limiting position shown in Fig. 6.

Inorder to provide a reduced groove-bottom radius, a wedge indentation may be struck locally on the sleeve 18 in generallyv the manner described for the dimple 21; alternatively, the spiral groove 19 may be formed with a bottom concentric with the sleeve axis, and the sleeve may thereafter be slightly deformed to make the sleeve section and, therefore,the groove bottom slightly'elliptical. However, in the form shown, I illustrate my preference rfor a groove 19 of varying depth in the body* of the turning cup 18. This groove construction is best illustrated in Fig. 4, in which'reference numeral 22 identies the axis for the inner and outer cylindrical surfaces 23-24 of the sleeve 18, and in which the reference numeral 25 identifies the axis for the bottom of the propulsion groove 19. The groove bottom then becomes eccentric to the axis of the cup 18, and I prefer that the shallowest part of the groove 19 resulting from such an eccentric cut shall be located at or near one of the axial ends (26) of the groove 19. In the form shown, the shallowest part of the groove is located at 27, just short of one end of the groove 19, and by forming the height or external projection of cam follower 20 so as to slightly exceed the depth of the groove 19 at location 27, while at the same time forming the projecting extent of follower 20 substantially less than the maximum depth 28 of the e groove 19, I assure that an eccentric locking action can take place to locate and hold the upper position of the turning cup 18; this condition is illustrated in Fig. 6, in which the cam follower 20 is jammed against the groove bottom at 19', and ther outer cylindrical surface of sleeve 14 is tight against the bore of cup 18 at the location diametrically opposite 19. I prefer that, when retained in the upper position, the bottom of the turning cup 18 and the bottom of the fixed cup 14 shall be in substantially the same horizontal plane, Ifor appearances sake, as also shown in Fig. 6.

In Fig. 7, I show a modified tip-cup arrangement wherein the propulsion groove 30 is formed in the fixed cup 31, while the cam follower 32 is formed on the turning cup 33. The cam follower 32 then projects radially inwardly, but may be formed out of the body of the turning cup 33 in generally-the same manner as described at 20 for the fixed cup 14. Likewise, the propulsion groove 30 may be formed in a rolling operation on the sleeve 31, but I hereby indicate my preference that the groove 30 may be cut out of the body of the fixed cup 31, as in a turning operation which, again, is preferably slightly eccentric to the axis of the fixed cup 31, in order to achieve the frictional bind described in detail in connection with Figs. 4 and 6.

In Fig. 8, I illustrate a slightly modified turning cup 35, which may be generally similar to that described in Fig. 3, except that the groove 36 may be concentric with the axis of cup 35, and the frictional bind to locate the upper position of the cup 35 may be achieved by means of a local discontinuity in the progression of the propulsion helix 36. The discontinuity in the form shown occurs at 37, where a mere change in pitch or helix angle is sufficient to produce a binding action on both sides of the oblique cam follower 20, as will be understood.

It will be seen that I have described a relatively simple umbrella tip-cup construction, featuring positive location of its limits of travel and providing assurance against accidental dislodgement, by requiring a deliberate actuating movement other than a strictly up and down actuating movement.

While I have described the invention in detail for the preferred forms shown, it will be understood that modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims which follow.

I claim:

l. An umbrella tip cup, comprising two relatively rotatable closely fitting sleeves, means for fixing one of said sleeves to a handle, one of said sleeves having on the surface thereof exposed to the other of said sleeves a spiral propulsion groove, projecting means carried by the other of said sleeves and riding in said propulsion groove for follower action, said groove being of varying depth for various axial locations thereof, whereby an eccentric locking action may be achieved between said projecting means and said groove for one relative angular position of said sleeves.

2. An umbrella tip cup, comprising a fixed cup and a turning cup having overlapping closely fitting relatively slidable sleeve portions, said sleeve portions having interengaging means cooperating on relative rotation of said sleeve portions to axially propel said turning cup with respect to said fixed cup, the interengaging means on one of said sleeve portions being helically developed about the axis of said one sleeve portion, the effective radius of said helically developed means about said axis varying as a function of axial position along said one sleeve portion, there being at least one relative axial position of said sleeve portions for which said varying radius determines interference between said intercngaging means, whereby a locking action may be obtained for said one axial position.

3. An umbrella tip cup, comprising a fixed cup for attachment to a handle, a rotatable cup including a sleeve slidable over said fixed cup, said rotatable cup having on the inner surface thereof a spiral cam groove, the bottom of said groove being eccentric with the axis of said sleeve, and cam-follower means carried by said fixed cup and projecting into said groove and of a radius freely to ride in said groove for a plurality of relative axial positions of said cups and yet at one relative axial position to bind against the bottom of said groove.

4. An umbrella tip cup, comprising a fixed cup for attachment to a handle, said fixed cup having on the outer surface thereof a spiral cam groove, the bottom of said groove being eccentric with the axis of said fixed cup, a rotatable cup including a sleeve slidable over said fixed cup, said rotatable cup having ou the inner surface thereof a cam follower projecting into said groove and of a radius to ride freely in said groove for a plurality of relative axial positions of said cups and yet at one relative axial position to bind against the bottom of said groove.

5. An umbrella tip cup, comprising two relatively rotatable sleeves, propulsion means coacting between said sleeves to propel one of said sleeves axially relatively to the other of said sleeves upon relative rotation, first stop means coacting between said sleeves in a first relative angular position of said sleeves for determining a first limiting relative angular position of said sleeves, and second stop i means coacting between said sleeves in a second relative said wedge comprises a portion of said groove with a boty tom of varying radius.

7. An umbrella tip cup according to claim 5, in which said wedge comprises a discontinuity in the axial progression of said groove.

8. In an umbrella tip cup, two relatively rotatable sleeves, one of said sleeves having a spiral propulsion cam slot formed therein, cam-follower means on the other of said sleeves and projecting into said propulsion slot, said cam-follower means comprising an oblique projection from said other sleeve toward said one sleeve, and said propulsion slot having formed therein ari axial dis continuity of such extent as to bind with said oblique cam follower.

9. An umbrella tip cup according to claim 9, in which said axial discontinuity is characterized by a change in pitch of said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,251,526 Horn Ian. 1, 1918 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,582 Great Britain July 20, 1910 277,527 Great Britain Sept. 22, 1927 rai.. 

